Doodle Flurry

My hopes and dreams of falling in love with the iPad as a tool for drawing have not come to pass. The lack of pressure sensitivity is why it fails for me. I don't understand why it can't be like a Cintique! Drawing on the iPad with a broad, blunt, rubbery stylus that doesn't slide smoothly across the glass is frustrating.

In spite of that frustration, I've downloaded about a dozen drawing apps. Pressure sensitivity aside, there are some amazingly powerful drawing tools, but their complexities and interface designs overwhelm the joy of simply drawing.

But one app that is winning me over is Paper by 53. It's the only one I've used and forgotten that I'm drawing on an iPad.

You cannot zoom in. You cannot zoom out. You don't get layers. There are no blending modes, no filters, no textures. Your color palette has black, white and only seven colors. Your tools are a pencil, an eraser, a couple of markers and a stiff water color brush... and none of them work the way you want them to work. This is not complaint, but compliment.

It's like one of those inexpensive art supply sets for kids. Aren't those great? Was there ever a better moment than when you got your first set of art supplies? Grab ahold of that pen, pencil, brush or stylus and draw with the enthusiasm of someone who cares nothing for layers and blending modes and textures. Shit, they can take away the eraser and it would be even better! Let's make a pact, okay? I won't use the eraser if you won't.

The best part is the interface; it is the coolest. You create little journals to draw in, open them, close them... ah, it's hard to explain. You have to try it. But like I said, it's the coolest bar none.

You can download the app for free, but you only get a pen. You can unlock the arsenal of tools for $7, and I don't want to hear anyone bitch about how expensive that is. It's more than some other drawing apps, but it's much less than two good pens. (Don't get me started on people complaining about any app that costs more than 99¢. That really ticks me off. )